ARCH 2611 - The Design of the Built Environment

Given the importance of sustainability in facing the environmental challenges of the contemporary built environment, those considering a career in architecture and associated environmental design fields must have an understanding of the basic principles that describe how the physical world works. The course begins with a brief introduction to the basic, physical concepts noted above, explaining each through abstract and empirical methods. Historic and contemporary case study examples are used to contextualize the concepts, demonstrating how, taken together, they can provide an explanation of the specific design response. Basic concepts such as heat transfer, structural efficiency and the nature of materials are used to explain how humans have adapted to a wide range of physical environments through the design of shelters and their environmental contexts.